I have been thinking a lot lately about my method. Experience is a powerful factor, but it is unusual that people really sit down and try to map out what we know.
While it's portion of one of my offerings that were compensated, I Have decided to share this checklist. A couple of disclaimers: First, I do not claim this list is unique or extensive. Jakob Nielsen has an excellent 113-level checklist for example, Homepage Usability, in his book. This really is my way of organizing what I feel is important while attempting to keep it manageable. My usage of phrases might differ from yours. I use "usability" in an extremely broad sense, and my use of "accessibility" isn't very industry standard. Don't like it? Write your own checklist ;) Lastly, an advance warning that this post is pretty lengthy.
Basic Overview
The list is split into 4 approximately equal sections, (I) Accessibility, (II) Id, (I-II) Navigation, and (IV) Content. I will describe and rationalize all the sections and line items below, however you can also download the checklist as a simple, 1-page PDF.
I try to keep it simple with 3 basic ratings: (1) Green Check Always = Great/Move, (2) Red Check Always = Needs work, but no disaster, (3) Red X = Bad/Fail. Not all points are fundamentally applicable to all or any sites.
While it's portion of one of my offerings that were compensated, I Have decided to share this checklist. A couple of disclaimers: First, I do not claim this list is unique or extensive. Jakob Nielsen has an excellent 113-level checklist for example, Homepage Usability, in his book. This really is my way of organizing what I feel is important while attempting to keep it manageable. My usage of phrases might differ from yours. I use "usability" in an extremely broad sense, and my use of "accessibility" isn't very industry standard. Don't like it? Write your own checklist ;) Lastly, an advance warning that this post is pretty lengthy.
Basic Overview
The list is split into 4 approximately equal sections, (I) Accessibility, (II) Id, (I-II) Navigation, and (IV) Content. I will describe and rationalize all the sections and line items below, however you can also download the checklist as a simple, 1-page PDF.
I try to keep it simple with 3 basic ratings: (1) Green Check Always = Great/Move, (2) Red Check Always = Needs work, but no disaster, (3) Red X = Bad/Fail. Not all points are fundamentally applicable to all or any sites.